Mulger bill wrote:This is the best I could do at short notice If somebody with some skills wants to shrink and tidy it a bit more ...[img]<a%20class="vglnk"%20title="Link%20added%20by%20VigLink"%20target="_blank"%20rel="nofollow"%20href="http://i48.tinypic.com/kbcfw1.jpg[/img][/quote"><span>http</span><span>://</span><span>i48</span><span>.</span><span>tinypic</span><span>.</span><span>com</span><span>/</span><span>kbcfw1</span><span>.</span><span>jpg</span><span>[/</span><span>img</span><span>][/</span><span>quote</span></a>]What does Hercule Poirot have to do with it?

wizdofaus wrote:If we were suffering bicycle congestion on bike paths would you consider more building bicycle pathways a reasonable response?

While I am tempted to laugh at the idea of bicycle congestion in Australia, it is a real issue in cities such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

Whether building more bicycle pathways is a reasonable response will depend entirely upon what is the cause of the congestion - eg one of the solutions in Copenhagen was the "green wave" of lights to increase the flow of bikes at 20 kph rather than stop, start.

find_bruce wrote:While I am tempted to laugh at the idea of bicycle congestion in Australia, it is a real issue in cities such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

Actually you'd be surprised. I ride right through the city on my way to work now, and at peak hour you can easily miss a traffic light change for the number of bicycles queued up in front of you. And I can't move any quicker through that stretch of the journey than other cyclists that are much slower than me (but still much quicker than in a car).

outnabike wrote:From that video , it doesn't look necessary to wear lycra, so I can cross that off my list. Helmets off my list, Mudguards are on. Bit of an eye opener.

Funny, while I have nothing but admiration (and some jealousy) for the success of many European cities in encouraging cycling as a mainstream method of commuting - I almost feel like I wouldn't fit in there, because there are so few cyclists on the city roads and streets that do the whole road-bike/cleats/lycra thing, and personally for me, that's just a far more pleasurable (and practical) way of getting around. In Melbourne there's actually a good mix of cyclists of all sorts. Just not enough of us.

outnabike wrote:From that video , it doesn't look necessary to wear lycra, so I can cross that off my list. Helmets off my list, Mudguards are on. Bit of an eye opener.

Funny, while I have nothing but admiration (and some jealousy) for the success of many European cities in encouraging cycling as a mainstream method of commuting - I almost feel like I wouldn't fit in there, because there are so few cyclists on the city roads and streets that do the whole road-bike/cleats/lycra thing, and personally for me, that's just a far more pleasurable (and practical) way of getting around. In Melbourne there's actually a good mix of cyclists of all sorts. Just not enough of us.

They are sure marching to the beat of a different drum. And It's nice to see all the bso's in lieu of the racing type bikes as well. If the common man hopped on a bike and joined the other cyclists we would have a greater presence on the road.Different riding circumstances I know. My friends from Holland also ride step through's as well. Just working folk with no prejudices.

outnabike wrote:From that video , it doesn't look necessary to wear lycra, so I can cross that off my list. Helmets off my list, Mudguards are on. Bit of an eye opener.

Funny, while I have nothing but admiration (and some jealousy) for the success of many European cities in encouraging cycling as a mainstream method of commuting - I almost feel like I wouldn't fit in there, because there are so few cyclists on the city roads and streets that do the whole road-bike/cleats/lycra thing,

All the road racers will be out there, riding the roadsters for their commute. It is just what works and is so much easier to do, fitting in with the social and business infrastructure. On the weekend or after-hours they will get out their road bikes and cycling gear for racing or training.

Sorry, if you like them they are Ftb's....... If you don't like them, then they must be Bso's...... Just trying to get my terminology right. Or is it that because there are a lot of them that we can call them Ftb'sI am still trying to find where I fit in as I only have those uncommon Randonneur bars.

wizdofaus wrote:I almost feel like I wouldn't fit in there, because there are so few cyclists on the city roads and streets that do the whole road-bike/cleats/lycra thing,

head out of the cities and join the bunch rides to get the lycra fix.

Of course, but it's how I get around the city too - I make trips between 10-30km almost every day, and certainly if I'm travelling 30 km on a hot day, I wouldn't want to do it in casual clothes on a commuter bike.Anyway, it's on my bucket list to spend a year living in some European city with that sort of bicycle culture, so I'll get back to you in 5 or 10 years

Actually that map suggests that the built-up extent of Copenhagen is pretty close to 30 km from one extreme to the other. And I gather in the Netherlands you could easily travel through 30 km or more of mostly contiguous urban areas, e.g. from The Hague to Rotterdam.

It would indeed help to get people more fit and it might improve the traffic. On my way in to work each day, I see heaps of space that could be converted into a great shared use path along Parramatta Road, and portions alongside it are already shared use in certain areas (around Five Dock if I remember right), which I didn't know until I started having to get along there each day in the last few weeks in the traffic.

At some point I'd like to do at least one post about "success stories": cities from around the world that have significantly boosted cycling as a percentage of commuters over the last decade or so, with some stats showing the benefits. If anyone knows of any good resources, that'd be great. It's probably the first article I'd actually have to do some genuine research on! Is there at least one town/small city in Australia that would qualify?

Who is online

About the Australian Cycling Forums

The largest cycling discussion forum in Australia for all things bike; from new riders to seasoned bike nuts, the Australian Cycling Forums are a welcoming community where you can ask questions and talk about the type of bikes and cycling topics you like.